Essay Northern Ireland Conflict

Many people only have a limited idea about what these infamous “troubles” in the North of Ireland really were. Hopefully this article will shed some light on the matter. In the past the vast majority of violent acts and attitudes of discrimination towards minority groups have been based on blacks or the Jews, often leaving religious wars to the olden day Europe. However according to research “ the Troubles in Northern Ireland represent one of the most modern examples of religious, ethnic and political conflict”. This originated mainly from competition for the possession of land and jobs between the catholics and protestants occupying northern Ireland at the…show more content…

Both the catholic and the protestant communities define the Troubles very differently. An approached passerby quoted “ a protestant might view the conflict during the Troubles as an attempt to make sure that Northern Ireland remained a part of Great Britain. On the other hand, a catholic may see the Troubles as either a struggle to unite Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland or a movement to bring equality to Catholics”. History of The Troubles From 1921 to the early 1960’s, protestant leaders ruled Northern Ireland both politically and socially. The catholics were in the minority during this time. This political and social control by the protestants led to resentment and anger from the catholics. In the 1960’s, the catholic anger and resentment added onto the economic problems at the time e.g. unemployment led to a mass protest by the Catholic community, including marches for freedom and equality. These protests mark the start of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. In 1969 British Army forces were called in to Northern Ireland to ensure stability and safety in the country. In the years that followed, Violence and terrorism continued. Two main paramilitary groups were formed, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The IRA's main aim was to bring to an end British control over Northern Ireland and to unite all of Ireland while the UVF tried to maintain British dominance of Northern Ireland. Thousands of people, both

The Bitter Conflict in Northern Ireland Essay examples

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The Bitter Conflict in Northern Ireland

Out of all the conflicts that have occurred in Western Europe since the Second World War, Northern Ireland has been one of the most bitter, long lasting and intractable. This conflict is based in the struggle of one side of the community for a unified independent Ireland and the opposition of the other part of the community to this aim and their desire for Northern Ireland to remain a part of the United Kingdom. Due to the hostility between these two sides issues of discrimination in areas such as housing, employment, electoral manipulations and religious histories have been rife. Northern Ireland is torn over the balance of power relations between communities and questions of governance.…show more content…

Although this is good news there are many areas of employment which are still inadequate and unmonitored. The Policy of Appraisal and Fair Treatment and Targeting Social Need initiatives were intended to be set up in the 90's to act as monitoring and job creation schemes. Neither of these reached the goals they were hoped to achieve. PAFT received no consideration and hopes for reparation for past discriminations came to nothing when its function became reduced to 'equality' and TSN was sidelined with no real aims. Neither monitor the religion or gender of staff.

The allocation of public housing has also been an area subject to accusations of discrimination. In the 1960's civil rights movements began in protest against the lack of civil and housing rights of the Catholics of Northern Ireland. In June 1966, a nationalist councillor Austin Currie squatted in a house in the Tyrone village of Caledon to oppose the treatment the Irish people were receiving. Though it was meant to be a peaceful protest there was a violent reaction. In 1969 The Cameron Report examined the causes of the civil disorders which started on 5 October 1968 in Londonderry. They found that the discrimination in the allocation of housing, together with lack of housing provision was among the main grievances of the Catholic population. At the time, housing was an important political issue, in addition to being of great socio-economic importance - sub-tenants were not given a vote in local